The Importance of Primary Care

Your primary care provider (PCP) is your first line of defense against both sudden and long-term illnesses. By providing preventive care, your PCP can detect potential problems before they start. And, by providing treatment for sudden illnesses, your PCP can help you feel better and stay well.

At PharmXHealthOne, with locations in Boynton Beach and Port Saint Lucie, Florida, our team has your back and is devoted to helping you live a long and healthy life. Having a primary care physician is a major part of maintaining your health. Think of your PCP as the quarterback of your health care team. As the first point of contact, your PCP coordinates all of your care.

Why is primary care important?

Your PCP manages your health by diagnosing and treating ongoing health issues, providing comprehensive care during sudden illnesses, and providing preventive care to lower your risk of developing health problems.

Your PCP also arranges for you to see a specialist when appropriate. Here are a few ways your PCP manages your health:

• Treating acute illness, such as cold and flu
• Managing long-term conditions, such as hypertension and Type 2 diabetes
• Providing immunizations
• Performing routine health screenings
• Performing annual checkups
• Referring you to medical specialists

Just like you take your car in for regular maintenance, it's important to schedule routine visits and checkups to ensure that your health stays in peak condition. Having familiarity with your overall health and focusing on you as a whole person can enable your PCPs to help you stay your healthiest.

How can primary care help keep you well?

Your PCP can provide prompt treatment when you're feeling unwell and manage long-term conditions, but preventive care is a major part of staying healthy. Many health problems cause no symptoms. Unless you schedule regular screenings and checkups, things like high cholesterol, elevated blood sugar, and higher-than-normal blood pressure can go unnoticed.

These conditions leave their mark by damaging your body without kicking up the type of fuss that sudden illnesses, such as the flu, do. Persistently elevated blood sugar that goes undetected can damage your kidneys, eyes, and peripheral nerves, among other things.

When you're seeing your PCP regularly, problems, such as hypertension, can get caught as early as possible, so you can begin treatments to get your health back on track.

When is the right time to get urgent or emergency care?

Your PCP is there to treat many problems when they arise suddenly, but there are some circumstances where it's best to seek treatment from urgent care or the emergency department first.

The emergency department is there to spring into action when you're having a very severe or life-threatening situation, such as:

• Fainting
• Seizure
• Signs of stroke
• Trouble breathing
• Severe broken bones
• Sudden loss of vision
• Severe allergic reaction
• Symptoms of heart attack

When your issue isn't life-threatening but you need urgent medical attention, an urgent care center is more appropriate. Examples of reasons to visit urgent care include the following:

• Urinary tract infections
• Animal bites
• Minor cuts
• Minor fractures
• Severe sore throat
• Flu symptoms that aren't responding to self-care

In general, when you feel like your issue can't wait, but it isn't life-threatening, urgent care is the place to go.

Rely on the team at PharmXHealthOne for your primary care needs. Our top-tier wellness center provides holistic, naturopathic, and functional care. To learn more, book an appointment online or over the phone with PharmXhealthOne today.